Tobias Sylvester
The Nigerian Government has confirmed the receipt of $311 million looted by late military dictator, General Sani Abacha.
This was made known on Monday by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr Umar Gwandu.
Malami said that the loot was repatriated from the United States and the Bailiwick of Jersey after a recent agreement.
He said the amount increased significantly from over $308m mentioned in an earlier statement in February to over $311m as a result of the interest that accrued from February 3 to April 28, when the fund was transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Malami said the legal process to have the money returned to Nigeria began in 2014 while the diplomatic process which led to the signing of the agreement on February 3, 2020 by the governments of Nigeria, United States, and the Bailiwick of Jersey, started in 2018.
“This agreement is based on international law and cooperation measures that set out the procedures for the repatriation, transfer, disposition and management of the assets,” he said.
“In line with the 2020 Asset Return Agreement, the fund has been transferred to a Central Bank of Nigeria Asset Recovery designated account and would be paid to the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) within the next fourteen days.
“The NSIA is responsible for the management and execution of the projects to which the funds will be applied,” the Minister has said.
Malami said the money will be used to fund projects including Lagos – Ibadan Expressway, Abuja – Kano Road, and the Second Niger Bridge.
He revealed that the government was in the process of establishing a Project Monitoring Team to oversee the implementation of the projects and report regularly on progress made to the public.
KanyiDaily recalls that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had claimed it spent the previous recovered Abacha’s looted funds on lifting poor Nigerians out of poverty.
